Midnight Sun (Twilight #1.5)(125)

She glared at me with her furious kitten face again. I smiled at her face, "Having the advantages I do," I mused, touching my forehead, "I have a better than average grasp of human nature. People are predictable. But you... you never do what I expect. You always take me by surprise."

She looked away then, and back at my family. She looked... embarrassed? Upset? I couldn't tell, "That part is easy enough to explain," I added. I wished she would look my direction, "But there's more... and it's not so easy to put into words-"

What the hell are you thinking of saying to her, Edward? Rosalie then turned and glared at Bella. What is so special about this girl? Huh? I don't see it. She is so breakable and human. You just keep her around because she smells like the greatest snack you'll ever have! Rosalie continued to give Bella a fierce look. If you take a bite out of her this will hurt our whole family, you know that!

I had it with her and I snarled under my breath.

Whatever, nitwit. Rosalie turned her head then.

Bella looked back at me then and I was relieved to see her face. She looked... frightened? Was that possible? Did Bella even know what fear was? I was going to have to give Rosalie a good scolding later.

"I'm sorry about that. She's just worried. You see... it's dangerous for more than just me if, after spending so much time with you so publicly..." I didn't want to finish my sentence. I was hoping she wouldn't ask to hear the rest, but of course, she would want to know.

"If?"

"If this ends... badly." I put my head in my hands and tried to push the thought out of my head. Maybe she will finally see that this is serious. That I could... gulp... kill her at any moment. I could breathe her delectable scent in and one day the monster might break free from the darkness I put him in and decide to taste the delicious blood that I could see pulsing on her neck. I heard her drop her hand on the table. I kept trying to push those thoughts away, but then I took in a large gulp of her rich aroma. Instantly the monster reared up.

I heard Bella's shaky voice then, "And you have to leave now?"

The monster retreated then. "Yes," wait, she wasn't.... scared? She still didn't want me to leave? I relaxed and couldn't help but look delighted, "It's probably for the best. We still have fifteen minutes of that wretched movie left to endure in Biology - I don't think I could take any more."

Bella gave me a look like she completely understood what I meant, she must have been feeling the same way about the dull movie, not like I was watching it anyways.

It's time to meet Bella! Yay! Alice trilled in her mind. I could see the back of my head from her vision as she skipped over to the table.

"Alice," I said.

"Edward," she answered, and added, this is where you introduce us, in her thoughts.

"Alice, Bella - Bella, Alice," I introduced them, hoping that Alice won't start bugging me every five minutes about hanging out with her. I only barely obtained Bella, and I didn't want Alice to take all her time away from me.

"Hello, Bella," Alice smiled, "It's nice to finally meet you."

Once again I saw a vision of her and Bella arm in arm, smiling at each other, Bella's eyes bright, crimson red. I shot a dark look at her.

"Hi, Alice," Bella whispered shyly.

"Are you ready?" Alice asked me. I didn't want to leave Bella, but I was more than happy to remove Alice from her, "Nearly, I'll meet you at the car."

I met Bella, yay. Edward, you know this means that we get to start hanging out right? Alice beamed.

I glanced at Bella and as she watched Alice dance away.

"Should I say 'have fun,' or is that the wrong sentiment?" she asked, looking back at me.

Her expression showed a painful emotion, like me leaving her for a short moment in time would cause her great pain. She was so nonchalant about talking about my world that I couldn't help but grin.

"No, 'have fun,' works as well as anything." I said.

"Have fun, then" she said, I could tell there was an edge to her voice. Was she going to miss me while I was away? Being separated from her was overwhelmingly painful, was she feeling this way too? She couldn't possibly grasp the concept of the kind of love I felt for her.

"I'll try," I continued to smile at her, "And you try to be safe, please."

"Safe in Forks - what a challenge."

"For you it is a challenge." I hoped that she remembered my last request about her safety; that she stays out of the woods. "Promise." I begged. If she put herself in harm's way or was hurt in any way because I wasn't there to protect her... it would shattered my cold, silent, heart into pieces.

"I promise to try to be safe," she mused, "I'll do the laundry tonight - that ought to be fraught with peril."

If that were all she was going to do this evening, she should be safe. I remembered her incident in gym from the other day and grasped the concept that no matter what Bella was doing, there was always an opportunity for her to injure herself. The thought merely brought on an internal chuckle, though, and I teased, "Don't fall in."

"I'll do my best" she mocked.

I stood then, wishing I didn't have to leave. Bella got up too.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she sighed.